BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) – A Barre building long considered an eyesore is getting a new lease on life. After being left empty for over a decade, the Barre Area Development Corporation has bought the former Newberry’s Five and Dime property at 143 North Main Street.

Barre has met its goal of reaching $800,000 to acquire the space, and now the next steps are all about envisioning what could go in the space to improve the downtown’s vibrancy.

“What I would consider like a blight, or a blank space in our downtown that could really be used far more productively,” said Peter Colman, the owner of AR Market next door.

He says he’s glad he’ll eventually get a new neighbor after years of seeing the building sit empty. Though he felt like the price tag was too high, he’s glad the Barre Area Development Corporation bought the place. “It’s kind of like a dead tooth — you’ve got to pull it, you can’t just let it sit there and fester. And I think it’s much better to be active or proactive about something than to just sit, sit aside and wait for someone else to do something about it,” Colman said.

The idea for developing the property was sparked after the 2023 flood. Former Barre City Manager Steve Mackenzie, now the president of BADC, knew it was something people wanted changed.

The building owners were asking for $1.2 million. The city responded with an offer of $1 million, which was later negotiated down to $775,000. The city appropriated $400,000 of federal pandemic money, and the rest came from fundraising.

“Very appreciative of everybody’s support for the campaign and the success. We have success, and I think it’s a positive step for the downtown, and I think it gives us a sense of hope for the future,” Mackenzie said.

The city hopes to turn the bottom floor of the space into commercial property and the top floor into housing, which Baree City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro says is crucial. “We know there’s a housing deficit, we know that’s the number one issue that feeds into so many of the challenges that we have,” he said.

The final product is still a few years out. There’s still a lot of planning and fundraising that needs to take place.

Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.